Just So You Know
by jadefirefly3D
Summary: She thought she had the whole morality thing figured out. But now that the adrenaline has worn off and she's had time to think, a tired and injured Mabel has doubts about what kind of person she is. She's upset, convinced that she's a bad person and a misunderstanding with Ford doesn't help. Fortunately, she's got her family to help set the record straight. (The Last Mabelcorn)
1. Chapter 1

A/N My life has been pretty crazy lately and I've been on a temporary hiatus from writing because...reasons (including but not limited to: death in the family, illness and crazy stress). Getting back into writing in general has been a challenge because when I'm at my computer I've got so much crap on my mind that I draw a blank. But I have to write _something_ or I'll go crazy! Fortunately, _miraculously_ even, the latest episode gave me a few ideas which has led to this and hopefully it will reignite that spark needed to continue my other stuff. (Sometimes that helps) Anyway, because I can't resist the hurt/comfort genre and I'm so long winded that I can't seem to write a simple one shot to save my life, (It's over 9000!...words) here's a fluffy two shot family h/c piece set just after "The Last Mabelcorn".

Enjoy.

* * *

 **Just So You Know…**

Mabel winces as she peels off her sweater and tosses it in the trash. She feels a little sad because she loved that sweater, loved the colour scheme and the unicorn design she spent a long time on getting it just right. Like all her sweaters it was made with love, but now it's ruined and not worth salvaging. Besides tearing off the unicorn design in rage when she learned how cruel unicorns truly are, it was also covered in rainbow unicorn tears. And when she looks down at the orange t-shirt she wore underneath, and the big red patch forming on her side, she realizes that her sweater was also covered with blood.

 _I thought that there was a disproportionately large amount of red in that rainbow of unicorn…stuff…_ she thinks with a grimace as she lifts her shirt to see a large, dark bruise forming along her side with a good sized gash in the centre. She remembers one of the unicorns trying to impale her with their horn, but she dodged the attack and the unicorn only managed to graze just below her ribcage, but she didn't realize it managed to tear the skin. It cut pretty deep too. Of course in the heat of battle she didn't really have time to think about it or dwell on it. And when they finally surrendered, giving her the unicorn hair she needed and some of their treasures and fake eyelashes, the adrenaline was running so high she hardly noticed the various injuries she had sustained in the fight. But now the adrenaline wore off and Mabel ached all over.

She turns on the tap on the bathtub, letting the water run hot, deciding against bubbles this time around, thanks to her wounds. Taking off the rest of her filthy clothes and throwing them in the laundry hamper, Mabel eases into the steaming bath, sighing with relief as it soothes her aching muscles.

She closes her eyes, massaging a sore wrist and thinks about the fight. Her lips curl into a smug and satisfied smirk as she recalls the look of pure shock on Celestiabellebethebelle's face when she threw that punch. _She totally had that coming…_ Mabel thinks, but then her smile fades into a frown as a realization sinks in.

 _I punched a unicorn in the face!_

All day she had tried so hard to prove that she was pure of heart. Being a kind-hearted and good person was something she strived to always be, it was something valued about herself, but when the unicorn told her that she was bad, she was devastated. No amount of good deeds could fix the wrongs that she had committed, she was made to believe that in her very core there was a horrible, unworthy human being. When it was revealed that the unicorn was lying, scamming her like some gullible tourist at the shack, but _worse_ , something broke inside.

 _I punched a unicorn in the face! What kind of person punches a unicorn? Doesn't matter if she was mean to me, what I did was_ wrong _!_

She shakes her head, trying to rationalize it in her mind.

 _But I needed to get the unicorn hair somehow. It was to protect the Shack. If I left empty handed who knows what could happen?_

 _But it still doesn't make it right…does it?_

She thought she had learned her lesson about morality, but now that she thinks about it, she's not so sure. OK, maybe life's not so simple as black and white, but surely there was a better way to handle things than resorting to bullying a bully. But C-Beth or whatever the heck her name was wasn't going to just let her have the much needed unicorn hair, so she had to do _something._ But at the time she was more concerned about herself and her own broken heart to care about the whole purpose of her quest, so even if she did a good thing for her family by obtaining the hair, how could that possibly justify stooping to C-Beth's level?

The worst thing is, that punching her, and fighting her like she did felt so _satisfying_. Maybe it was a necessary evil to protect the Shack, but her intentions weren't so pure. What kind of person takes satisfaction in doing the wrong thing, even if it's for the greater good?

 _She was mean, she had it coming…but it still doesn't make it right…_

"Blaarrrgg!" she groans with frustration, splashing the water slightly, deciding that she really doesn't like thinking about such moral dilemmas. But what the unicorn said to her, even if it was a lie, struck at her very core and try as she may, she just can't seem to let it go.

 _It's not my fault you're a bad person._

She winces in pain as her frustrated movements tug at the gash on her side, sending a shooting pain through her ribcage. "Great," she mutters with a strained but annoyed voice when she sees that it reopened and was bleeding again, turning the water a pale shade of pink. She sighs, pulling the plug in the drain and slowly, achingly climbs to her feet, nearly falling back down again as a wave of dizziness washes over her. She clutches her side and shakily turns on the shower to rinse away the dirty bathwater and properly shampoo the grime from her hair.

When she's finished her shower she gingerly dries herself off and changes into a clean, comfortable pajama set, using a clip to hold her shirt up so she can go about tending to the wound on her side.

She's no stranger to blood or first aid. She's helped patch up Dipper when he was hurt, and when Stan cut his hand a few weeks ago somehow (he wouldn't say what happened) she was the one who helped him take care of it when it started to get infected. But when Mabel tries to get a good look at the gash in her side, her vision doubles and she has to sit down on the closed toilet lid to keep from falling down.

 _OK, gonna need a little help here…_ she thinks. Even though it's not bleeding too badly, in typical Mabel fashion, she _did_ go a little overboard donating blood earlier. She was so convinced that going that extra mile would help purify her heart, that she somehow managed to convince the nurse to let her donate more than what was considered safe. It was a good deed that certainly isn't helping her much now. In hindsight, even after having time to recover, it was pretty miraculous that she had the strength to fight the unicorns at all, with or without her friends backing her up.

"Dipper!" she calls, "I can use some help in here bro-bro!"

She presses some gauze to stop the fresh new flow of blood and waits. When she gets no answer she calls again, "Dipper!"

"Drat!" she frowns, peeking under the gauze. While the bleeding has started to slow, it still looks pretty bad and oh man, does it _hurt!_ I looks bad enough that she wonders if maybe stitches are necessary and hurts bad enough she wonders if she didn't crack her bottom rib. _How did I manage to go so long without noticing this anyway?_ She wonders but she shrugs it off, considering it to be merely odd. In Gravity Falls, odd is normal so she doesn't really question it further, she just wants to patch herself up so she can go to bed. After such a long and crazy day, she's _tired_.

She dismisses the idea about needing stitches and when she tries to call Dipper again to no avail, Mabel takes a deep breath and shakily applies antibiotic ointment to the wound and tapes fresh gauze over it herself. If she wasn't so dizzy and shaky and going at it at such an odd angle it probably would've looked much neater, but the important thing is that it will hold, at least for now.

When she's finished with that she rubs at her sore wrist and flexes her hand, noticing faint bruising along her knuckles from punching the unicorn. Her wrist is slightly swollen so she decides to wrap it. She's not able to get it tight enough to make much of a difference but it helps ease the pain a little.

 _Hmm, I'll have to get Dipper to help me make it tighter later…_ she thinks, and then she's hit with a wave of sadness. She can't quite put her finger on it, but things have changed between her and Dipper, and whenever she thinks about it she can't help but wonder what it is exactly that's changed. It's subtle, but it's there and it's not good. She sometimes wonders if maybe she's merely making a mountain out of a mole hill and it's just a phase, no big deal, but it bothers her all the same.

They still get along, sure, but ever since Grunkle Ford's come along he's been doing his own thing a lot more often. That in of itself isn't new, but usually he'd ask if she wanted to come along or help him when he went off to solve mysteries or whatever, but not anymore. Dipper spends most of his time now hanging out with Grunkle Ford which is cool—she's happy that they get along so well, but whenever she asks about what they're up to they'd both go quiet, like it's some huge secret. There's a distance between them now.

When Ford brought up Bill Cipher this morning she was shocked to be part of the conversation at all to be honest. And then she had to practically _beg_ to be allowed to help Grunkle Ford protect the Shack from the Triangle Guy by getting the unicorn hair in the first place! _I don't think Grunkle Ford trusts me all that much, and maybe Dipper doesn't either. Not anymore. But then again, I haven't exactly been the best sister lately._

Mabel closes her eyes, feeling tears start to fall down her face, _The unicorn might've been lying about being able to see into my heart, but she wasn't wrong._

She sniffs, wiping away the tears and starts to get up, but suddenly tips forward when dizziness overwhelms her. She grabs the sink to catch herself, and sits back down.

When she feels steady enough, she climbs to her feet, using the walls for balance as she leaves the bathroom with the intent of going upstairs to bed.

She makes it two steps when she hears the front door open and voices carry through the Shack.

"Are you sure this will work?" Dipper asks.

"Positive, that unicorn hair made all the difference. But keep in mind that this only protects the Shack, so until I can fix the mind scanner, when you have to leave always be on guard, got it?" Grunkle Ford replies.

"Got it."

Mabel grins wanly, glad that her efforts to help her family wasn't in vain and wonders if there's any leftover unicorn hair. Maybe if she knits it into sweaters for everyone that could solve the problem Ford just brought up. _I should ask him and find out…_ She clutches at her wounded side taking a couple of steps but she feels so woozy that she can't stand anymore so she slides down the wall, landing with a thump. There's no way she'll make it up the stairs on her own power at this point. "Uh, Dipper?" she calls, her voice a little strained.

He answers in a heartbeat and when he sees her just outside the bathroom sitting on the floor, looking pale and pathetic he stops in his tracks, "Woah, Mabel! You OK?"

"Um…I could use a little help," she replies with a weary grin, "I'm feeling a little unsteady on my feet at the moment."

He eyes her up and down and shakes his head, "Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?"

"Didn't realize how bad it was until the adrenaline wore off I guess," Mabel shrugs.

"Is that blood?" he asks, his eyes wide with worry.

Mabel looks down at her side and groans, "Aw, _fudgesicle sticks!_ I thought it stopped by now!" She frowns, "And I liked this shirt!" Sure, it wasn't her favourite sleepshirt, the one with the floppy disk—that was in the laundry waiting to be washed—but she liked this one a lot. It's soft and cozy and has kittens on it, and now that too is ruined, just like her sweater.

"Oh yeah, I'm really concerned about your _shirt_ right now," Dipper rolls his eyes as Ford comes up from behind him. "Let me see…"

She sighs and lifts her ruined nightshirt to reveal the bandage. Blood had soaked right through and she has to admit that it's a little worrisome. _I really don't want to need stitches…_ she laments with a frown.

"Mabel, this looks pretty bad," Dipper murmurs.

"Well, it could be worse," Mabel says, trying to look on the bright side, "the unicorn did that trying to impale me with her horn. Good thing she missed, right?"

"I think you and I have a different definition for 'missed'," Dipper smirks, slightly amused by her optimism, "but you're right that it could be worse. I think I need to go to the enchanted part of the forest and give that stupid unicorn a piece of my mind!"

"Well, to be fair I did kind of start it when I punched her in the face."

"Seriously?"

Mabel nods sheepishly.

"OK, you _really_ need to tell me this story in more detail later," Dipper exclaims, "but first, how did you not think to mention this earlier?"

"I _told_ you, I didn't know how bad it was."

Dipper looks skeptical but then Grunkle Ford cuts in, "She probably didn't notice it because she was covered with unicorn tears. I know of a few magical healing elixir recipes that list unicorn tears as an ingredient and while they don't have healing properties on their own, they are believed to be effective at magically treating pain."

"See?" Mabel argues, wincing when Dipper puts pressure on it. "I'm not going to need stitches, will I?"

"Let me look?" Ford asks, not really allowing Mabel or Dipper a chance to respond, instead he pulls Dipper's hand away and sees it for himself. "Looks pretty nasty, but I think you'll be fine without."

Mabel sighs with relief, "Good because I _hate_ stitches."

"Don't we all," Ford smiles. He holds out his hand, offering to help her up. When he pulls her to her feet she sways dangerously but he scoops her into his arms in one fluid motion, "Dipper, get the first aid kit and follow me. Don't worry Mabel, we'll fix you up like new."

"Thanks," she replies, her voice breaking a little as she unexpectedly starts to feel overwhelmed all of a sudden and begins to cry softly to herself. It had been such a crazy and harrowing day and she's so tired she figures that maybe it shouldn't be so surprising that she's a little on the emotional side.

"Mabel? What's wrong? Are there more injuries to worry about? I'm not hurting you am I?" Ford asks, adjusting his grip on her.

She shakes her head, "No, I'm just…I'm fine…well, _mostly_ fine." She glances around in surprise when she realizes he's not taking her upstairs to their room in the attic, but he's carrying her into the gift shop. No…he's taking her downstairs to the basement! She hasn't been down there since the portal opened. Grunkle Stan had forbidden it at first, but when Dipper bonded with Grunkle Ford over that math game he changed his mind. Instead it was Grunkle Ford that didn't let her down there, only Dipper's allowed.

"Grunkle Ford?" she exclaims, looking around as he stepped onto the elevator, holding the door open for Dipper who follows close behind with the first aid supplies.

"I have something down here that should help with the healing and the pain," he says, "it's kind of a secret so I'd rather not risk my brother finding out about it. He'd exploit it for profit until there's nothing left."

"But I thought you didn't want me to come down here…"

"True, but you got hurt doing your part at protecting this family so I think I can make an exception," Ford smiles at her, setting her down on a chair. "You earned it."

Mabel sniffs and can't help but smile back. She notices that the window to the portal room is concealed with an old bedsheet, and a lot of things seem to be hidden away, so she figures it's not really a big deal for him to take her down there since there's not much to see. But the fact that he took her downstairs at all means a lot in her eyes. They got along just fine, but they never really connected before, so while he may not trust her like he trusts Dipper, she takes it as a sign that he's not completely shutting her out of his secret life anymore. _Baby steps…_ she thinks, realizing just how _badly_ she wants this.

"OK, Dipper, put pressure on her wound. I'll be right back, I just have to grab something," Ford says, patting her gently on the shoulder, leaving her and Dipper alone.

Dipper doesn't say anything, he just does what he's told and stares at her worriedly, like if he takes his eyes off her she'd fade away.

"I'm fine Dipper," she sniffs, grimacing as the pressure Dipper's using to staunch the blood sends shooting pain through her middle, "I'll probably be really sore for a few days but…I'm OK."

"You look like you're about to fall over," he comments, placing his free hand on her shoulder.

Mabel sighs, "It's the blood loss."

"How much blood did you lose before you noticed you were hurt?" he exclaims.

"I'm sure if it was just this I'd be doing much better right now," she motions to her injured side, "but donating a few pints of blood earlier doesn't help."

"You donated blood? I didn't think kids were allowed to do that."

"Well I was able to convince them to make an exception thanks to my adorable charm," Mabel flashes a grin.

"OK, but why on earth would you want to…?"

"I _had_ to. I thought if I…I thought it would…" her voice trails off and she frowns, getting a lost look in her eyes. _I thought it would make me a good person worthy of the unicorn's favour. I thought it would make me pure of heart…I was such a fool._ "It's a long story."

Dipper notices her eyes welling with tears and sees the sadness behind them, "Mabel? Are you OK? What's wrong?"

Mabel avoids his concerned gaze and shrugs with a weary smirk, "You mean besides the fact I sorta got stabbed with a unicorn's horn?"

"Yeah."

She looks at him and sighs, "It's…it's nothing. Just today made me realize that…that um…" she shakes her head and blinks, letting one solitary tear to slide down her face, "It's nothing." She quickly wipes the tear away with her bandaged hand.

"Doesn't sound like nothing."

"It's a long story?"

"OK, so tell it to me."

Mabel is about to ask Dipper the question that's pressing on her mind but Ford returns with a small jar of _something_. It looks like jam, green jam.

"OK let me take a look," Ford says. Dipper drops his hand and Ford peels back the bloodstained gauze and smiles, "Well, the bleeding's slowed down now, so that's good. I'm going to clean it up a bit and put some of this stuff on it and you should be right as rain in no time, it might not even leave a scar if you're lucky."

"What is that?" Mabel asks, making a face when she catches a whiff. It _stinks_! Even hurt and upset, sometimes Mabel just can't help herself, "Smells worse than Dipper's farts, and that's saying something!"

"Hey!" Dipper exclaims in protest.

"Oh admit it Dipping Sauce, half a taco and you're practically _toxic_!"

She's about to continue but she stops. _Here I go again, teasing Dipper. Ugh, I'm a horrible sister!_ The one consolation is that he doesn't seem to mind this time around, in fact he looks kind of amused. _Probably giving me a pass because I'm injured._

"Honestly, you don't want to know," Ford replies, trying not to laugh, "But trust me when I say it works wonders."

"It's not like, goblin guts or anything like that, is it?" she guesses.

Ford chuckles warmly, "No, no, of course not!" Then his face gets serious, "But seriously, you don't want to know."

Mabel sighs and silently gives him permission to use the mystery goop, even if it does smell.

"So what this stuff is going to do is seal that gash closed, and will dull the pain and help heal it faster. I must warn you, it's going to sting a little at first…OK a _lot_ , but give it a few minutes and you shouldn't feel a thing," Ford says. Mabel's braces herself and nods as Dipper gives her shoulder a supportive squeeze.

Ford's not lying about the stinging. Well, 'stinging' isn't quite accurate, it's more like an agonizing burning sensation that has her crying out in misery. Thankfully it quickly fades to a dull throb, and soon it goes numb and she can hardly feel it at all. "Grunkle Ford," she exclaims breathlessly, wiping away the tears in her eyes, marvelling at how much it doesn't hurt anymore, "That's amazing!"

"Good, I'm glad to hear it worked," Ford grins, "there's one more thing I'd like to give you before you go on to bed. Dipper, could you get Mabel a glass of water?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," he nods sparing Mabel a look before he heads upstairs.

"Mabel, you stay right here and I'll be back," Ford says, disappearing again.

Left alone, Mabel looks around the room and is reminded of that day when everything changed. She sees the desk where they found the other two journals and discovered what Grunkle Stan was up to. The desk is mostly empty, but there's a door covering the shelves the journals were on and it looks like it's locked.

The picture Stan had of her and Dipper is still there which makes her smile. Knowing that Grunkle Ford fixed it and kept it makes her happy. He keeps to himself so much, except when spending time with Dipper, she sometimes wonders how he feels about them. Well, _her._ She knows that he cares about Dipper, he's the only one Grunkle Ford can seem to trust, and even though they don't get along, Mabel knows he loves his brother. But with her she's not sure sometimes. They get along, but it feels like they're merely friendly acquaintances than family. But the photograph on the desk says a lot.

While she still feels wobbly, now that her side doesn't hurt she's also feeling a little stronger so without really thinking about it she approaches the picture, and takes it in her hands as she leans against the desk for support. She grins, remembering when it was taken. It was a fun day. They were still new to Gravity Falls, Dipper was still crushing hard on Wendy, he was just figuring out how to crack some of the codes in the journal, she hadn't met Candy and Grenda yet and they were barely warming up to the nickname 'The Mystery Twins'.

It wasn't really all that long ago, but since then things had changed so much. In some ways, Mabel's still not quite sure if it's for better or worse. She'd like to think it's mostly for the better, and is optimistic that things will eventually turn out that way if it's not, but there's other things to consider. Like Triangle Guy, as she likes to call him, and whatever Ford is so worried about him finding. And then there's the question she's been asking about herself lately, especially after today. _Have I changed for the better or for the worse? I try to be good but lately…I don't know. Have I become a bad person?_

"Mabel! What are you doing?" Ford hisses suddenly, startling Mabel out of her thoughts.

Feeling like she got caught with her hand in the cookie jar, she twirls around to face him, which makes her head spin and she loses her balance, blindly grasping for something to hold onto to keep from falling. She drops the picture and one hand slams onto the desk while the other grasps at the bedsheet concealing the portal room. He catches her before she can fall, and she's about to thank him until she sees the anger and disappointment in his eyes. And then she realizes that he wasn't trying to keep her from falling, he was pulling her away from the sheet to keep her from seeing whatever it was he was hiding.

 _Oh no, it's the scissors and the unicorn all over again…_

"Whoa, Grunkle Ford it's not what it looks like…"

"Looks pretty clear to me!" he snaps, physically making her sit on the chair before he makes sure the makeshift curtain is still in place, "You know how important my privacy is to me! I finally let you down in my personal space and the first thing you do when my back is turned is start snooping around!"

"That's not what happened!" Mabel exclaims.

"I thought maybe after today I could start to trust you!"

"I wasn't snooping, I…I was looking at the picture, that's all!"

"I don't believe you!"

"Honest! Grunkle Ford…" she feels tears slip from her eyes, "I was just looking at the picture and you startled me! I got dizzy and grabbed the curtain to keep from falling, not to look behind it!"

Wagging his finger at her he's about to say something else and then his expression softens when his gaze meets her apologetic eyes. He seems to be scrutinizing her eyes carefully, checking for something. Finally his shoulders sag and softly he asks, "How much did you see?" There's no bite or anger in his voice, just disappointment.

"Nothing," Mabel insists.

"OK," he sighs, picking up the dropped picture and putting it back in place, "I guess I should believe you then."

 _Doesn't look like it_ , she thinks, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry," she cries.

He sighs, handing her what looks like a small piece of homemade candy, about the size of an M&M, "When Dipper gets down here with the water, take that."

"What is it?"

"Just a pill with a few magical components I made in the other dimension and works like an antibiotic," he replies, not looking her in the eyes, his tone quiet and flat, "It should help speed up your recovery."

"Thanks Grunkle Ford."

"Yeah, glad to help," he shrugs, avoiding her eyes, unable to hide his disappointment.

 _He still doesn't believe me when I say I wasn't trying to snoop around._

"Grunkle Ford?" Mabel asks. When he looks at her she continues, "Do you think I'm…" _…a bad person?_ She stops thinks better of it and shakes her head, "never mind."

"What is it?" Ford presses with a weary sigh.

"Nothing. It was stupid," Mabel flashes a tired grin, "But…are we good?" She vaguely gestures to the desk and the bedsheet curtain.

Ford bristles, "Sure." He doesn't sound very convincing.

 _I guess that answers my question,_ she thinks sadly. _Will he ever trust me now?_

Dipper arrives and gives her the water, she takes the pill and at Ford's instruction drinks the whole glass.

"Looks like you lost a fair amount of blood," he says quietly and clinically, "you need to replenish your electrolytes. When you get upstairs you should have at least one more glass."

"OK, thanks," she nods, feeling terrible for betraying his trust, even though that was never her intention. _Add that to my list of sins, I guess._

"Will you be OK getting back upstairs?" Ford asks, avoiding eye contact.

"Um, I'm still kind of shaky but I guess I can manage," Mabel replies quietly.

"I'll help her," Dipper offers, glancing back and forth between them with confusion, sensing the change in mood. Something must've happened when he was gone.

Mabel's eerily quiet when they make their journey upstairs from the basement to the attic. She leans on him for support and has to take a quick break when they get to the main level, feeling weak as a kitten and heavy with guilt. Not just for ruining her chances at earning Ford's trust, but all her sins. She may have torn up her list when she learned the unicorn lied about being able to see into her heart, but she remembers every item. No good deed is going to fix all the rotten things she's done. The unicorn had a point.

" _Doing good deeds to make yourself look good isn't very good at all!"_

She couldn't possibly measure up to be worthy of truly being considered a good person. And even when she tries to do good things, does she do it because it's who she is? Or does she do it for herself? She used to think being a good person was part of who she was, but now she's not so sure anymore.

 _I have changed. For the worse._

"Mabel?" Dipper asks when they reach their room and she starts crying again, "Are you OK? What hurts?"

She shakes her head, "I'm fine just…just…really tired and sore and…today…the unicorn made me realize something about myself that I didn't want to know."

"What's that?"

"That I'm a bad person," she replies, flopping into bed and curling on her uninjured side, wishing she could roll over so she didn't have to face him. But even though the stinky salve numbed the pain, she doesn't want to risk making it worse.

"Mabel, don't be silly," Dipper sighs, sitting down beside her, "why would you think you're a bad person?"

"Because it's true."

"You're going to let some dumb unicorn get to you?"

"Yes!" she whines petulantly.

"Did something happen downstairs with you and Grunkle Ford?"

"Yeah," she quietly admits, "it was a misunderstanding really, but… you know what, I don't want to talk about it right now. It's been a long day and I'm so tired."

"OK," Dipper agrees, as she buries her face in her pillow. "Want me to help you with that?" he asks, pointing to her bandaged wrist. It clearly hadn't been put on tight enough and is starting to unravel, making it pretty useless.

Mabel looks up at him to see what he's talking about, "What?"

"That."

"Oh. Sure," she sighs, reluctantly sitting up, wincing as it awakens all the various aches she had that _wasn't_ treated by some magical mystery salve. She holds out her sore hand and he unwraps the bandage, revealing her swollen wrist and bruised and torn knuckles.

"Wow," Dipper exclaims with a low whistle, "I still can't believe you punched a unicorn in the face!"

"I shouldn't have done it," Mabel whimpers softly.

"I'm still looking forward to hearing the whole story, but something tells me she had it coming," Dipper says. "You needed to get the unicorn hair somehow, and because of you the Mystery Shack is safe from Bill. I think that has to count for something."

Mabel doesn't answer, she just watches with dull, tired eyes as he wraps her sprained wrist.

"How does that feel?" he asks, "Not too tight is it?"

"Its fine," she replies quietly.

Dipper nods and fastens the clasps to hold it in place, "And for the record, you're a good person. One of the nicest people I know."

"Thanks but… I know you're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Mabel," he sighs, "I'm saying that because it's true. Maybe you make mistakes once in a while, but who doesn't? Didn't you yourself say that morality is relative?"

"Yeah, but I was still on an adrenaline high and I wasn't really thinking."

"Well, maybe you don't always do the right thing, but you try. And I don't think a bad person would beat themselves up over doing bad things, so I think that should count for something too. Right?"

Mabel gives him a small smile and then lies back down, pulling her blanket over her head, "Good night, Dipper."

"Night," he replies, saddened that his sister is so convinced that she's a bad person for some reason that she clearly doesn't believe him, "I hope you'll feel better soon."

"Mmm," he can see her shrug under the covers. He sighs, gives her shoulder a reassuring squeeze and heads downstairs, hoping that Mabel's depressed and guilt-ridden state is just a result of being exhausted and sore and emotional after a bad day. Hopefully a good night's sleep will help lift her mood. But if that doesn't help, they're going to have to have a little talk.

But first he needs to talk to Ford.

* * *

A/N Thanks for reading! Reviews are always welcome and are about as crucial as food and water to my hungry muse. I should be getting the conclusion uploaded in a few days, once I work out a few kinks first. Hopefully updates to my other stories are coming soon. (Fingers crossed)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N So sorry for the delay, some of you might know I'm dealing with a lot of stuff in my life making updates not nearly as frequent as I'd like. It's just real life has to take priority, you know? It sucks and I know some of you are really anxious for some updates on this and my other stories, believe me I am too, I really don't want to leave you guys hanging and I really, truly appreciate the patience and support you've shown me the last few months as I've been dealing with a _lot_. Hopefully updates on all my stories will be more frequent from here on out, fingers crossed anyway. I'll definitely do my best.

Thanks to all my wonderful readers and reviewers and everyone who's put this on their favourites and/or follows this, it means a lot. I can't believe the kind of response this has received and I hope that this next chapter was worth the wait. I agonized over this chapter, debating on whether or not to include it. After posting the first chapter I pretty much scrapped the rest of it entirely, and then rewrote it and rewrote it and gave up for a while, it's been more of a pain than it needs to be. But after way more deliberation than necessary, I thought, "Why not?" and so before I change my mind for the umpteenth time, here it is!

Enjoy!

* * *

As soon as he leaves Mabel alone to rest, Dipper goes back downstairs to talk to Ford. It's just not right that his sister is unhappy and the sooner he can fix that problem, the better.

"Hey, there you are!" Ford grins, "Just the person I wanted to see. How's Mabel?"

"Sleeping I think," he replies.

"Not surprised. That pill I gave her should knock her right out," he nods, not quite catching the odd tone that Dipper's voice makes when something's wrong. Oblivious, he holds out his hand, "She should sleep soundly through the night but when she wakes up, you should give her this."

"What is it?"

"Just your average extra strength over the counter painkiller," he replies with a shrug, "that salve works wonders, but unfortunately I can't give her another dose—anything over one application will negate the healing properties. When the numbing effects wear off, the pain tends to come back with a vengeance."

"How long until that happens?" Dipper asks.

"Honestly, it varies from person to person. Make sure she takes this when she wakes up, and if she shows sign of pain or discomfort in her sleep, wake her," he instructs, "I'm not sure but I think she may have cracked a rib, and I know from experience just how painful that can be. Best to try and combat the pain before it gets bad. I always find the day after an injury like that is the worst."

"Do you think she needs a doctor?" Dipper's eyes widen with worry.

"Nah, all they'd do is take an X-Ray to make sure, and whether it's broken or just badly bruised, there's nothing a doctor can do that we aren't doing already. Somehow I doubt Stanley would appreciate the unnecessary cost," Ford rolls his eyes with a smirk, "Besides, the stuff I gave her will work faster and more effectively than anything a doctor might give her."

"Oh. OK," Dipper nods with a sigh, wondering how to confront Ford about Mabel's depressed state and the apparent misunderstanding that occurred while Dipper had left to get Mabel water. Whatever happened troubled her greatly, and she had already been uncharacteristically melancholy before that. He had sensed the sudden change in mood and tension immediately and since Mabel didn't want to talk about it…

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ford asks, finally catching onto the fact that something is bothering him. "She'll be fine in a few days at most, if that's what you're worried about."

"It's not that…well I guess I'm sorta worried about that because I can't stand it when she's hurt," he admits, and Ford nods with understanding, "but…" _May as well just come out and say it,_ "What happened earlier? Between you and Mabel? She seemed pretty upset."

"Oh, it was nothing," he scoffs dismissively.

Dipper shakes his head, "No, it's not. Mabel would not be so affected by it if it was nothing."

"I left her alone for a minute and caught her snooping," he explains with a weary sigh, "she denied it but…"

"You didn't believe her."

"It's OK, I know what it's like to be a kid and getting caught doing something I'm not supposed to. I'm not mad at her, I don't think she meant anything by it but it did catch me off guard, and frankly I thought she knew better than to…"

"Grunkle Ford, if she said she wasn't snooping, then she wasn't snooping."

"Dipper, I saw her. It's…"

"No, you don't understand," Dipper shakes his head, "you don't know Mabel like I do. She _hates_ lying. Not only that but she's terrible at it, like, the _worst._ It's not her style and you'd see right through it. Besides, she's not like that. She respects your privacy and even though she didn't say so, I think it meant a lot to her that you were starting to trust her. I just can't see her doing anything to ruin that, not on purpose. Whatever you saw, it probably wasn't what it looked like."

Ford listens to Dipper's words, taking them into consideration. He nods, "I see…"

"I know Mabel's so goofy and cheerful all the time, and she doesn't let things bother her, except sometimes they do. She'll put on a show and take on challenges with a smile but sometimes she can be pretty sensitive. Whatever happened with the unicorns today really affected her, and with that and this misunderstanding between you two, she's really upset. She's starting to think that she's a bad person and with you being mad at her…"

"Dipper, I'm not mad at her," Ford sighs, "I realize now that I might've misinterpreted her actions, but I even told her I believed her…"

"But you obviously didn't."

"All right so I had my doubts about what she was really doing, but I either way I knew she didn't mean any harm," he admits, "when she wakes up, tell her that things are fine between us and I'm not angry with her, OK?"

"OK, I will, but I think you need to tell her yourself. Maybe you weren't mad at her, but you sure seemed like it down there."

"Really?" Ford asks remorsefully.

Dipper nods, "Yeah."

He sighs, "Truth is, I was disappointed. With her and with myself, but mostly with myself. I know I overreacted, I can sometimes be so paranoid I forget that kids can be curious. I know I upset her, you see, for a moment I worried that she might've been…well…"

"Bill?"

He nods sheepishly, "I know, I know, it's crazy. Bill can't get in here anymore thanks to her, but in the moment I got caught up in my own paranoia, worried that I might've missed something and I felt like a fool for reacting so harshly. I didn't realize how much it reflected in my attitude. Tell her I'm sorry."

"You can tell her yourself later," he replies. "She needs to hear it from you."

Things are quiet for a moment, Ford seems hesitant but finally he sighs and nods his head, "All right, I'll tell her when I see her."

"Thank you," Dipper starts to leave but then he pauses and frowns.

"Something else on your mind, kid?"

"Yeah, kinda," he sighs, "It's just…I haven't seen Mabel this depressed in a long time…maybe never."

"She seems like the type of girl who won't let things keep her down for long," Ford comments.

"And she is," Dipper agrees with an enthusiastic nod, "but lately…I don't know."

"I'm sure she's fine," Ford shrugs indifferently, "she just had a rough day and just needs some rest."

"Maybe," Dipper frowns, "but…"

He sighs, a misplaced but very real sense of righteous anger building up within him at how dismissive Ford seems of Mabel and her feelings. He can't help it because he's seen it before. Usually from teachers or acquaintances who tended to shrug off any hurt feelings Mabel might have as no big deal, assuming that all it would take for her to feel better is something sparkly or fluffy to distract her. And maybe that can be true for little things, but this isn't a little thing, doesn't Ford see that? He's not an acquaintance or whatever, he's family! And she's the reason he's even here!

Dipper tries to reel in his protective anger because he knows Ford means well, but Ford doesn't know Mabel like he does. Now that he thinks about it, he hasn't even made much of an effort to get to know her at all and just knows the Mabel that he wants to see. He just sees the carefree, random and silly girl that she is, and he's not wrong there, but there's far more to her than that.

Just because she's silly and happy and sees the world through sparkly rose coloured glasses doesn't mean she's immune to sadness and hurt feelings. If anything, her openness and optimism, her tendency to put her whole heart into everything she does, only leaves her more vulnerable to heartache.

It's true that she rarely lets things get her down for long, but when they do it sends her into a slump that's hard for her to get out of. Worst part is that she gets it in her head that she's supposed to be happy all the time, that people expect it of her and she'd let other people down if she's not her typical cheerful self. So when she is in one of her long term funks, she tries not to let it show too much. Sometimes not even Dipper can tell until she exhausts herself from trying to be 'on' all the time and she no longer has the energy to try. But even then, it's only those who are closest to her that will see how much things can sometimes get to her.

But now that he's really thinking about it, Dipper realizes that she's been depressed for a while now, but he didn't really notice it until earlier when he helped Mabel to bed. She seemed so defeated. It took far more than a bad day to drag her down this far. This slump is something that had been building for a while, her encounter with the unicorns, her injuries and her misunderstanding with Ford were just the tip of the iceberg.

 _Why didn't I see this coming? I know she hasn't been sleeping well lately, which should be my first clue that something's wrong…but…_

"Don't worry so much Dipper, Mabel's going to be fine."

Dipper meets his great uncle's smiling gaze and furrows his brow in thought, a realization forming in his head, "Grunkle Ford, do you…do you trust her?"

He pauses, "Well… That's a loaded question Dipper."

"Not really," Dipper shrugs, "Do you trust her?"

"Well, she was a big help today…that says something."

"That doesn't really answer my question," Dipper frowns, folding his arms, "suppose she were to find out about the Rift, would you trust her to keep it safe?"

"Did you tell her?" he exclaims worriedly, which answers Dipper's question better than anything he might've said.

"No, of course not! I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, and I intend to keep that promise," Dipper sighs, "I wouldn't betray your trust like that. But I don't like keeping secrets from her and I think she's starting to feel left out."

Ford scoffs gently, "Dipper, she's not like you and me. She's not interested in this sort of thing, she has her girlfriends and does her own thing, so why should she be upset that you're doing your own thing too?"

Dipper has to admit that Ford has a point, but he's also completely missing the point Dipper's trying to make, "Yeah but...even when we go off and do completely different things, we're still best friends. We don't keep secrets from each other. She'll go on and on about her day, but when she asks me about mine, well… a few weeks ago I'd tell her all about my adventures or whatever but now…now I can't. It's _weird._ She says she understands and she's quick to drop the subject and won't push me, but at the same time, I think it's starting to get to her."

"Look, it's not a matter of whether or not I can trust her," Ford clarifies, "because I do. If I didn't I never would've let her take my journal and go on that unicorn quest, though I admit it was more out of necessity than trust because we needed her, and she needs to know that Bill is out there. But the girl's got spunk and a lot of heart and I'm grateful for her help."

"I think it meant a lot to her to be allowed to get involved today," Dipper says, "I trust her with my life…"

"I don't doubt it," Ford cuts in with a kind smile, knowing where he's going with this, "But when I said you can't tell her or anyone about the Rift or the work we're doing, I mean it. I have a few very good reasons why I'm reluctant to let people in and find out about my work, especially the Rift. For one thing, if the knowledge I have got into the wrong hands, the consequences could be dire. But it's not just that. It's not just about trust, not entirely, though it's part of it, but it's also for her protection. The Rift is a dangerous object, and just knowing about it can be dangerous. It could potentially put a target on her back, Bill could go after her if she knew about it."

Dipper cringes at the thought, "OK, point taken but I think you're underestimating her... Look, I'm not saying we should let her in and tell her _everything_ , but…it just doesn't feel right, keeping secrets from her. I don't know what exactly has her so depressed lately, but I know that shutting her out isn't helping. She's got this crazy idea in her head that she's a bad person…"

"Which is ridiculous because Mabel's a sweet kid and shouldn't have to feel that way," Ford sighs, shaking his head.

"I know, right?" Dipper exclaims, glad that he and Ford are finally on the same page, "But how can I convince her otherwise if she thinks I can't trust her anymore? She seemed so _defeated_ , and when Mabel's unhappy, it's like the whole world is off balance. I don't know what to do."

"You're a good kid, Dipper," Ford puts his hand on his shoulder and gives it a reassuring squeeze grinning proudly at him, "It's very admirable how much you look out for your sister."

"We look out for each other."

Ford gives him a fond smile, "I'll talk to her, we'll get this misunderstanding sorted out and set the record straight. She's going to be fine, I promise."

"Thank you," Dipper replies with relief, believing now that his uncle finally gets it and gives him a hug before heading back upstairs.

When he gets to their room in the attic Dipper sees Mabel curled on her uninjured side fast asleep. Waddles is lying beside her, pressed up against her knees, his head resting on her thigh. He looks up and watches Dipper when he enters the room, more alert than he usually is, almost protective, like he's aware his master's injured and vulnerable.

"Hey Waddles," Dipper whispers with a smile as he scratches behind the pig's ears and Waddles relaxes, licking Dipper's hand, "Thanks for looking after Mabel while I was gone." Waddles rests his head on Mabel's leg again and snuggles next to her as Dipper turns his attention to his sister.

"Mabel?" he murmurs tentatively, watching her for a moment, taking comfort in the soft sound of her breathing. He notices with sadness, dried tears crusting around her eyes and a wet patch on her pillow, clear evidence that she cried herself to sleep after he left. He pats her gently on the back of her shoulder and goes to his side of the room, sitting on his bed with a weary sigh. Ford wasn't kidding when he said that whatever he gave her would knock her out because she doesn't respond or make any sign of stirring even in the slightest.

He puts the painkiller Ford gave him on the table beside him and pulls out Journal #2 and starts to flip through it. He feels a little silly because going to sleep, despite his heavy eyelids, doesn't feel quite right. Sure, Ford _did_ say that Mabel will sleep through the night, and Dipper knows he's being a little ridiculous, but he can't help it, it's part of his worrying nature. In the off chance she wakes up ahead of schedule, he wants to be there for her. He meant it when he told Ford that the world's off balance when Mabel's not her normal happy self.

After a while there's a knock on the door and Dipper startles with surprise when Stan bursts in, without even allowing Dipper the chance to invite him in.

"Grunkle Stan? What's wrong?" Dipper asks quietly, noticing the distress in his eyes before anything else.

"What happened to Mabel?" he whispers, heading straight for her bed, "Is she OK?"

"Uh…well no, but she will be," Dipper replies, confused because as far as he knows, Stan doesn't know what happened today, just that Mabel somehow acquired some gold that he decided to claim as his own. Dipper and Ford had been mad that he would just take it without asking, but Mabel had said that she didn't mind, knowing how much making money means to him.

"I went to the bathroom and I noticed her sweater and t-shirt in the trash, covered in blood," Stan explains, gently resting his hand on Mabel's shoulder. She still shows no signs of stirring. "What the heck happened?"

"She got sorta stabbed by a unicorn's horn," Dipper says.

"What? How did that happen?"

"Not sure exactly, but Ford needed some unicorn hair and…"

"Of course, I should've known Poindexter would be behind this, sending a twelve-year-old girl alone on some dangerous quest…" Stan growls, clenching his fists, "excuse me while I give that jerk a piece of my mind…"

"Whoa, Grunkle Stan, she wanted to go," Dipper stops him as he starts to storm out, "she practically begged him for the opportunity and she didn't go alone, Wendy and her friends went with her. It actually meant a lot to her to be able to help."

"Why did he want it anyway?"

"A protection spell," Dipper replies, "for the Shack."

"And?"

"And that's it, if you need the details you're going to have to ask Ford," Dipper whispers, glancing at Mabel, unsure of whether the fact she's showing no signs of stirring or movement is a good thing or if he should be worried. She needs the rest, but she's sleeping so deeply that it seems unnatural, even for a deep sleeper like Mabel. It's like the world could end and she'd sleep right through it.

"She OK?"

"Ford and I patched her up, it was a graze mostly, but she lost a lot of blood and might've cracked a rib but…she should be fine in a few days," Dipper sighs, but his concern is evident enough that he's not very convincing.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you kids get involved with the crazy stuff Ford…"

"Grunkle Stan…" Dipper cuts in tiredly, not in the mood to have to deal with their feud drama.

"What? I'm just trying to look out for you kids and his obsession with all that's weird…"

"I appreciate that but you do realize that Mabel and I have been dealing with his weird practically since the summer began, right?" Dipper asks, "I get that you're angry but don't be blaming him. His journal saved our butts on more than one occasion and you know it. Besides, what Mabel did today was important and again, she _wanted_ to help."

"So what happened?" Stan asks again.

"It's a long story."

"Then tell it to me," Stan says, folding his arms, indicating that he's got all night if that's what it takes.

Dipper glances at Mabel and even though she's still showing no signs of rousing, despite the fact they've been slowly creeping up their volume as they talked, he tilts his head towards their door and leads the way out of the room to tell him everything he can, what he knows and what he's allowed to tell.

Stan chuckles as Dipper tells what he knows, "That's my girl," he states proudly, "punching a damn unicorn in the face. Bet she deserved it too."

"Probably, but I'm still not sure how exactly it all went down," Dipper sighs heavily, "she's so depressed and it's got me worried."

"Mabel? Depressed over some stupid magical horse?" Stan scoffs, "I may not be an expert or anything but I read Ford's journal once or twice and from everything I read on the subject of unicorns, they're rude and like to mess with people and probably shouldn't be taken seriously."

"Yeah well, I think this is something that's been building for a while," Dipper sighs, "I should've seen it sooner but she hasn't been sleeping and every once in a while…I don't know, I catch something in her voice that hints that she's not always as happy as she lets on but I never really, truly _noticed_ until tonight."

Stan regards him a moment and then smiles proudly, "You're both good kids and they way you two look out for each other well… sometimes I think Ford and I could learn a thing or two from you kids."

Dipper looks up at him and grins, "Really?"

"Yeah," Stan says, "Well, if there's anything I can do to help, kid, let me know. Can't have Mabel being all depressed and stuff, can we? It's not right for either of you to be anything but happy."

"Thanks Grunkle Stan," Dipper replies.

Stan opens the door to their room and glances at Mabel as she sleeps, "You sure she doesn't need a doctor or something?"

"Ford says there's no point," Dipper shrugs.

"Eh, too pricy anyways," Stan concedes, "and my brother may be a jerk, but he knows his stuff. Well, when Mabel wakes up, I don't know…tell her I'm proud of her for punching a unicorn, will ya? Those dumb horses had it coming, I'll bet."

Dipper chuckles, "OK."

"And if you need anything, let me know, OK kid?"

"Sure."

With that Stan gives him a pat on the shoulder and leaves and Dipper quietly slips back into their room.

He spares Mabel a glance and then pulls out Journal #2 again, flipping through the tome as he silently scolds himself for trying to stay awake when he knows it's not really necessary. _She's fine, she's not hurt_ that _badly._ He glances back at Mabel again from the corner of his eye and then back at the journal and sighs as he starts to read.

After a while he nods his head, his eyes slowly sliding shut until he twitches back awake, and for a few minutes he tries to fight his need for sleep. The entry he's been reading in the second journal is too interesting for him to want to put down. He's still worried about Mabel, but she's still sleeping so deeply the only movement coming from her side of the room is Waddles as he shifts positions by her side and curls back to sleep. _She's fine for tonight,_ he decides, reluctantly putting Journal #2 down and setting it under his bed, but he glances at her one more time before turning off the light and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

A/N So there you guys have it. Thanks for reading, I know not much happened in this chapter, (which was one of the reasons why I debated whether or not to include these scenes) but I also kinda wanted to show a comparison and contrast between Stan and Ford and showcase how awesome Dipper is and get his POV on things. I hope it worked. Anyway, good or bad, please let me know what you think! I hope for the next (and final) chapter to be up next week.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N So when I said this was the final chapter, I totally (but unintentionally) lied. It's just too long and I found myself unable to cut anything out. As it usually is with my stories, it took a life of its own. I don't have much to say but thank you guys so much for the awesome reviews, and for all the favourites and follows. It means so much to me!

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Mabel groans, caught somewhere between sleep and waking. Her eyes are heavy, but she's aware of her surroundings. The warmth on her face from the sun shining through the triangle window, the soft sound of quiet movement from across the room, and a deep, oppressive ache in her body that holds her down, keeping her from trying to move.

She's still too far under though to make sense of it all, instead she's caught up in the voices that surround her. Lots of indistinct chatter, like there's a whole crowd of people in her room speaking all at once, but their voices are muffled and vague. But every once in a while something comes through clearly.

She can hear Dipper, asking her not to tease him all the time, clamming up after she asks about his day. She can hear Ford, angrily accusing her of snooping, "I thought maybe after today I could start to trust you!" She can hear that stupid unicorn, "Doing good deeds to make yourself look good isn't very good at all. It's not my fault you're a bad person!"

Drifting back into sleep, the surreal sensation of semi-awareness mixed with dreaming fades and the scenery in her mind shifts and she finds herself back in the enchanted part of the forest.

" _All this time…you made me believe I was a bad person, but you're even worse than I am!" she shouts at the unicorn, furiously punching her in the face much to the shock of everyone._

 _Suddenly all hell breaks loose, fists and hooves flying as she and her friends fight the unicorns for the hair. Suddenly C-Beth or whatever the heck they called that nasty unicorn lunges at her, impaling her with her horn and then shoving her to the ground. She grasps the wound as a sharp, agonizing pain pulses through her body, knocking the breath out of her._

 _Dipper rushes to her aid, but it strikes her as odd that he's there. She doesn't remember him joining them on the unicorn quest, didn't he stay with Ford? "What are you doing here?" she gasps, shaking from the pain._

" _I decided to come because I can't trust you with something as simple as getting unicorn hair," he replies coldly._

" _Is it bad?" she asks, tears streaming down her face as she looks at the wound._

" _Not bad enough," he replies, shoving her back to the ground, "you're the worst Mabel. I should let her finish you off after ruining my life."_

" _What?" she exclaims in shock._

" _You make fun of me all the time, you always make me give up everything just so you can be happy. You almost gave BILL my journal, remember? I had been possessed and you were more concerned about your stupid play. I'm always there for you but where are you when I need you? Chasing boys, getting into stupid, silly nonsense… I'm sick of taking care of you, I wish I never had a twin. I finally have a chance to be happy and you're all mad because I don't have to put up with you anymore! I finally have someone who understands me, who understands what it's like to have some dumb twin hold them back!"_

" _But Dipper…!"_

" _He's kinda right, Mabel," Wendy shrugs in agreement. Grenda and Candy nod._

" _Here Dipper," C-Beth says, flipping her mane, "you can have all the hair you need. It's clear to me who's worthy, I can't imagine what it's like to have to put up with a terrible person like her."_

" _Good job Dipper!" Ford exclaims, appearing out of nowhere as Dipper hands him the hair, "There's a reason why I trust you and not your sister. She's a bad person. She'll sell you out for anything shiny."_

" _That's so true," Dipper agrees, glaring at her spitefully, "she's so selfish, I bet she wishes that she closed the portal because she doesn't like that you're here, taking up my time. She can't stand to see me happy and wants me to be lonely, so she can have me to herself whenever she needs me, even if it means I'd be miserable and you'd still be trapped in that other dimension!"_

" _Mabel, is this true?" Ford asks, looking hurt._

" _No! Of course not!"_

" _I was wrong to ever trust her," Dipper says, "I'm better off without her. Hey C-Beth, do the world a favour, will you?"_

" _Gladly," she replies, stabbing her once again with her horn._

Mabel wakes up with a gasp, and then cries out from the debilitating and sharp, shooting pain that flares through her side, stealing her breath away. Still disoriented from her deep sleep and strange dreams she's not quite aware of where she is or what's happening and she tries to get up and roll out of the way of the unicorn's horn when the ground seems to give way and suddenly she's falling.

She lands abruptly with a hard thump and is snapped fully into awareness, now on the floor next to her bed, lying on her stomach and in incredible pain. Breathless, she whimpers pathetically, clutching her injured side as she rolls onto her back and tries to make sense of everything.

 _I can't believe I fell out of bed!_ She thinks, shocked and embarrassed as tears stream down her face, _Who does that?!_

Waddles is at her side and licks her face, she smiles weakly, scratching his ears and gently pushing him away with her uninjured hand, "Hey Waddles," she cries softly as he looks at her as though worried, "I'm OK buddy, just fell out of bed. How embarrassing!"

She groans as she tries to push herself up, determined to get to her feet before anyone can find out but the sharp, agonizing pain in her side inhibits her ability to move and she doesn't make it very far.

"Mabel!" Dipper gasps as he enters the room, instantly by her side hovering over her holding a glass of water in his hand, "Oh man, are you OK?"

"Yeah…" she moans, her voice strained, "Just t-taking in the unique p-perspective from down here…"

"Here…" he puts the glass down on her bedside table and takes her hand, gingerly helping her sit up. She exhales sharply with a hiss, her body trembling in protest of the new position. "I noticed you were starting to wake up so I went to get you some water—you need to take this." He grabs the painkiller Ford gave him last night and she looks at it skeptically.

"What is it?"

"It's for the pain," he replies handing it to her.

She frowns and hesitantly pops it in her mouth as he hands her the water and she brings it to her lips with trembling hands.

"You seem to have a little more colour in your face now, that's good but you still look really pale, how are you feeling?"

"Stiff and sore, but…I'm OK," she replies quietly, glancing away from him as he takes the glass from her, "Could probably go for more of that stinky numbing stuff though."

"Ford says you can't have any more of it…"

Mabel frowns, "Figures." She heaves a sigh as she tries not to cry, "It's because I screwed up with Grunkle Ford, isn't it?"

"No, it's not like that!" Dipper exclaims, "He says that it won't work properly if you take more than one dose."

She looks skeptical for a moment but lets it go, "Oh, OK. Well that kinda sucks, it was nice not having to feel anything because it like, really, really hurts right now."

"Hopefully that painkiller will kick in soon," Dipper says sympathetically, reaching to help her when she starts to try and get up off the floor. At first she refuses his help, but she's still dizzy and weak so she holds out her hand and lets him help pull her up and onto her bed. "Can I get you anything?"

She smiles at him and shakes her head, "Nah, I'm good."

"You sure? You're not hungry or anything?"

"Well, yeah but…"

"What do you want? I'll go get it."

"I'm OK, Dipper," she rolls her eyes tiredly, "just give me a minute or two and I'll be right down."

"I don't know, I really think you should take it easy today. Maybe stay here and get rest while you heal up?"

"But I'm fine," she tries to stand up but the pain in her side explodes as her movement puts strain on the injury and she collapses into her pillow, her body shaking and her eyes watering as she lets out a small moan.

"Oh yeah, I totally believe you right now," Dipper scoffs, kneeling down beside her, "you got _stabbed_ yesterday…"

"It's just a flesh wound," she says jokingly in a horrible attempt at a British accent, rolling her eyes, but her voice is thick with pain.

"… _and_ Ford says you might've cracked a rib. Not to mention the fact you lost a lot of blood, Miss I'm-going-to-donate-all-my-blood-for-some-crazy-reason. The stuff he gave you will help you heal faster but he says the second day is the _worst_ , and you need rest."

She sighs heavily, gingerly rolling onto her back, "OK, you're right. Honestly, I kinda feel like I got in a street fight with a gang of angry unicorns…" she chuckles weakly, "oh wait…"

Dipper hesitates, "About that…Mabel we need to talk."

"Oh?" she looks away as though distracted by something but it's obvious she's trying to avoid the subject. "About what?"

"I think you know."

"There's really not much to talk about," she replies, "me and the girls went to get the unicorn hair, they were mean and rude, push came to shove and things got a little out of hand. Next thing you know we're fighting them for it. We got the hair, the Shack is protected, we won that battle so…I guess that's it."

"No, there was more to it than that, those unicorns really got to you," he pushes, "you were so down…"

"It was nothing," she shrugs lightly, "once the adrenaline wore off and stuff I just started to feel sorry for myself, that's all. I feel better now. I mean, my whole body is in a world of _ouch_ right at the moment, but the pity party is _over_."

"I'm glad but…"

"So it's all good, really. Don't worry so much," Mabel smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes.

"You've always been a terrible liar," Dipper points out. "I haven't seen you this depressed since…well since ever. You told me she made you realize you were a bad person, which is not true by the way, but you really seemed convinced, and I think what happened yesterday was just the tip of the iceberg because lately…"

"You're reading into things," she interrupts him with a huff, "Like I said, I was feeling sorry for myself but I'm over it. Why should I let what that dumb unicorn had to say, and that stupid misunderstanding with Ford last night bother me? The unicorn was just a bully and I'll make it up to Grunkle Ford, so everything is fine. There's nothing left to talk about."

"If you say so," he sighs, shaking his head in frustration, "but if you change your mind, I'm here for you."

"I know," she reaches her hand out and rests it on his elbow, a soft but still sad smile on her face. She meant to be reassuring, but judging by the sad, concerned look in his eyes, she knows it didn't work. "But seriously, I'm OK. Just a little…you know, _ow_ ," she chuckles awkwardly, motioning to her injured side to make her point, "just need a few days, you know?"

"Promise?"

"Of course," Mabel replies with a forced grin, "I appreciate the concern broseph, but it's really not necessary. I'm OK, I swear."

Dipper looks at her with scrutiny and Mabel does her best to be convincing, putting on her most sincere smile, but it's obvious that Dipper's not convinced. He knows her better than anyone and she might be able to fool other people, but not him. She wishes he'd look away, she wishes he was still clueless about the sadness that's been creeping up on her ever since the portal opened because now that he saw it, he can't unsee it and it will take far more energy than she has to try and assure him otherwise.

 _Please bro-bro, don't do this, I can't deal with it right now. It's stupid, it's so stupid and I just need to deal with this one on my own. This is all on me and I'm afraid that bringing you into this will only make it worse for both of us._

Dipper backs away a step and sighs. He starts to leave and Mabel relaxes a fraction, thinking she's in the clear for now but then he stops and turns, "No. No you're not OK. I _know_ something's bothering you, and I know it's been building for a while. Please Mabel, talk to me. I just want to…"

"Ugh, can you please just let it go?" Mabel groans, "It's no big..."

"I would but I can't. I can't stand seeing you like this!" he exclaims, sounding much harsher than he intended, "Let me help, you've been so unhappy lately, even before that dumb unicorn hurt you and your feelings and I feel so terrible because I didn't really see it before when I _should_ have, but now I do and I just want to help, OK? Please, talk to me. What happened Mabel? What happened to make you so depressed lately?"

"Nothing, it's nothing," Mabel snaps, her chin quivering as she tries to keep her expression neutral even though it's taking all she's got not to cry.

"Fine, if you insist," Dipper sighs, raising his arms in surrender, "but this isn't like you. You used to always come to me when you had a problem or something was wrong or whatever but… is it me? Did I do something? Is that why you won't talk to me about it?"

"No, of course not!"

"Then _please_ , don't shut me out."

"Like you shut _me_ out?" Mabel blurts, surprising herself. She covers her mouth with both hands, eyes wide with regret.

Dipper freezes in place, and slowly he straightens his posture, backing up a step and nods, "I see."

"No, nononono…that came out wrong, I didn't mean it like that!" she reaches out for him but curls on her side when she jars her injuries and she moans pathetically as she grasps at her wound, burying her face in her pillow. She growls with frustration and rolls onto her back and looks at him, "That's not…that's not what I meant. I don't really believe that. It's just that…I don't know, things have changed and…we're still best friends and stuff but…but lately it feels like…I feel left out of the loop, you know? But I don't blame you for it, it's not your fault! I get it, I know you can't trus—"

Dipper's expression softens and he puts his hand on her shoulder gently shushing her, "Aw Mabel... I'm sorry, really I am. I know it might look like it sometimes, but I'm not trying to shut you out. I just… if it were up to me I'd tell you everything."

"I know, I know," she cries, "I don't know why I said that…"

"It's just when I do stuff with Ford, he kinda makes me swear to secrecy."

"I know," she shakes her head, "you said that before and it's fine, I understand. Whenever I ask you to keep a secret you always do, so why should I get upset that you'd do the same for Grunkle Ford? See? It's stupid."

"Not if it makes you feel this way."

"But I _don't,_ like I already told you a million times, I was feeling sorry for myself, and I guess I still kinda am," Mabel runs her hands down her face, "You're right when you said the unicorn really got to me, but it's because she was right. I knew all along that she was right, but I just didn't want to admit it, even to myself but she forced me to see the truth and now I can't deny it anymore."

"You're not a bad person, Mabel."

Mabel looks at him and bites her lip, blinking back tears, "Do we have to talk about this now? I'm tired, I'm hurting and a little hungry and it's making me all cranky and emotional and stuff and I just… I really don't want..."

"It's OK, I shouldn't have pushed you into talking about this when it was obvious you didn't want to," Dipper sighs, "I just don't like to see you so depressed, it's not right and I feel awful for not seeing it sooner. But when you're ready, will you talk to someone? It doesn't have to be me just… I only want you to be happy."

She chokes out a little laugh-sob, "Aw, come here you dork." She reaches her arms out to him and he leans over and pulls her into a hug, "Thank you," she whispers as she pats his back before she hisses in pain, "OK, ow, ow, _ow!_ "

"Sorry, sorry!" Dipper exclaimsas he gently lets go, helping her ease back into her pillow.

"It's OK," she breathes with a strained grin, clutching at her side, "you didn't do anything, I just moved wrong."

"You really should take it easy."

"I will," Mabel agrees, "don't…don't worry so much. I'm feeling all kinds of sucky right now in so many ways, but I _will_ be OK, I promise." Dipper doesn't look convinced but once again Mabel does her best to flash her most sincere and reassuring smile as she wipes the tears from her eyes, "You're an awesome brother, you know that? It means a lot that you're here, being the super supportive, overprotective worrywart of a dorky brother you are, makes me feel better already, but it's not nearly as bad as you seem to think it is. Honest. Now do you mind leaving me alone while I let that painkiller you gave me kick in so I can change and be right down?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she chuckles softly, "it would be so boring if I stayed up here all day. I can manage."

Dipper sighs, "OK, but don't overexert yourself, call me if you feel dizzy or need help. You still look a little pale and…"

"Yes mom," she scoffs lightly,"I'm fine, now go silly!"

"Yeah, OK, see you when you're ready," he sighs as he reluctantly leaves the room.

Left alone Mabel's smile fades. She listens for the sound of Dipper's footsteps, making sure he's really gone. It would be just like him to hover by the door. But to her surprise he doesn't, and Mabel's struck with a pang of mixed feelings about that fact, which is crazy because isn't that what she wanted? For him to stop worrying and go? It's selfish of her to want him to stay and worry and that's why she tried so hard to convince him she's OK when she's not. But the fact that he's not hovering like he normally would speaks far more unintentional volumes to Mabel than anything else.

 _We're growing apart, aren't we?_

She tries to shake the idea from her head but it lingers, along with the reality that, _It's my fault._

" _Blaarg!_ " she groans, burying her face in her hands, feeling her eyes water as she chokes out a sob.

 _No…no don't do that. You can do this, just…put on a smile and face the day. Stop feeling sorry for yourself dummy. You're being stupid just…get up, face the day. You only brought this on yourself, so now's the time to_ fix _it._

She heaves a deep breath and wipes at her eyes and with a pained wince she gingerly tries to sit up, but her injured side refuses to let her get far without debilitating pain and with a cry she collapses back into her pillow.

 _OK…maybe later?_

She groans with frustration as she tries to relax, waiting for the painkiller to kick in before she attempts to get out of bed again. She closes her eyes, fighting to resist the temptation to just bury her face in her pillow and stay there all day. She knows she can get away with it considering her injuries, but that would also mean being alone with her thoughts and she really doesn't like the dark place her thoughts have been taking her lately when she's really been given the time to think.

And yet lately, she's been finding it harder and harder to find the energy and get up lately, even before she got hurt, making the urge to just roll over and go back to sleep that much stronger. It's weird for her, because normally she has energy to spare. But after a few minutes, after the pain in her side fades from a shooting pain to a dull throb and she's confident the painkiller's starting to do its job, she forces herself to get up, even though it hurts. The simple truth is that she finds that it's so much easier to deal with this…whatever this is when she's distracted by something else.

 _Fake it 'til you make it, isn't that how the saying goes?_

Mabel glances at Waddles who's sitting beside her and scratches behind his ears and forces a smile, "OK day, I'm ready to face you now."

She carefully pushes herself up and out of bed and with far more effort than it should be, changes into one of her more comfortable sweaters, a pink one with a panda design, and a purple skirt. The normally simple task is a chore though with her injuries and she exhausts herself until she's almost in tears again. _Maybe I should just go back to bed after all,_ she thinks, but then she quickly changes her mind, _No, come on Mabel, keep it together, you can do this!_ Hunching over and protectively wrapping her arm around her middle, she achingly makes her way downstairs.

She's quickly met with a familiar and warm scent when she opens the door and she breathes it in with a smile, _What's the occasion?_ She wonders as she follows the smell into the kitchen where she sees Stan flipping over a batch of pancakes.

"Hey sweetie," Stan greets cheerfully, "have a seat, breakfast is almost ready."

"Grunkle Stan, those smell amazing!" she exclaims as she eases into her chair at the table.

"That's because they _are_ amazing," Stan replies with a wink, "How are you feeling, kiddo? Dipper and I were taking and he tells me you got into a fight with a unicorn?"

Her smile fades, "Yeah." She glances around, "Where is Dipper?"

"Not sure," Stan shrugs, "he _was_ here, but then Ford came and said he needed him for something, I don't know but I'd imagine they're in the basement. They already ate."

"Oh," she frowns, unable to hide her disappointment. Fortunately, Stan's not looking.

 _Come on Mabel stop being stupid,_ she tells herself, _you're the one who pushed him away because you didn't want him to worry!_

Stan stacks a few blueberry pancakes onto a plate and sets it down in front of Mabel and sits across from her, a slightly taller stack of pancakes on his plate. He looks her up and down and his eyes widen in surprise, "Jeez kid, you look like you're really hurting. Must've been a heck of a fight."

"Yeah well," she chuckles, "you should see the other guy."

"I'll bet!" he exclaims, "Care to tell me what happened?"

She shrugs, "It was stupid."

"That's not what I heard," Stan says, "from what I hear Ford needed to make a protection spell?"

"Yeah, for the Shack," Mabel nods, "needed some unicorn hair. I tried asking nicely but…"

"She said no and you punched her in the face!" he exclaims proudly.

"I shouldn't have done it," she sighs, picking at her pancakes with her fork.

"Hey, what's this? Don't be feelin' all guilty over _that!_ I'm proud of you. Dipper says that because of you the Shack is safe from some 'interdimensional demonic entity' or something like that," he makes air quotes with his fingers as he speaks with a hint of skepticism, but she knows that's all for show. Stan knows that stuff is real, he'd just rather pretend it doesn't exist unless he has no choice.

"I was a bully."

"Bet she was a bully first," he says through a mouthful of pancakes, "I can't see you throwing a punch without being seriously provoked."

"I was," she admits, "she made me feel like a fool, a horrible, stupid fool. She conned me into believing that she could see into my heart and told me I wasn't pure of heart, I wasn't worthy and that I was a bad person. The worst part is…" Stan frowns as her voice trails off and she sighs, "Never mind."

"Well if you ask me, she had it coming," he says, looking her in the eye, "no one has the right to make you feel that way. No one."

"But…she was right," Mabel confesses, "She made me do a _lot_ of soul searching yesterday, and I _am_ a bad person."

"Nonsense!" Stan exclaims angrily, "Why would you even—don't let something some dumb magical horse tells you get to you, got it?"

Mabel sighs, unconvinced, "OK."

"You're a good kid, don't let anyone convince you otherwise," Stan adds.

"I _thought_ I was but…"

"But nothing. You're one of the best. You want to know what a bad person looks like, look no further than Yours Truly," Stan motions to himself as he takes another bite of his pancakes.

"Grunkle Stan, don't say that! You're not a bad person!"

Stan barks a laugh, "Says you! Look at me, I'm a con artist, I faked my death and spent thirty years pretending to be my brother to escape the law from crimes I committed."

"Yeah but…it was complicated. You had to do something to get by and rebuild that portal. You made some mistakes but…"

"Mistakes?" Stan scoffs, "No, I made bad choices, knowingly and willingly."

"But you didn't hurt anyone, did you?"

"What do you think?" he asks, raising a brow.

"Well…in self defence right?"

"Sure, OK, let's go with that, and for the most part, yeah that's true, but either way it doesn't matter. I conned good people out of their money, I ran all sorts of schemes to make a buck. I still do, in case you forgot already," Stan points out, "I'm a bad guy, Mabel."

"No you're not," Mabel insists, "you take good care of us and underneath that gruff exterior of yours you have a big, kind heart. You've been through so much, with your brother and your dad kicking you out and everything between then and now…you're not mean or cruel, you're just a good guy whose circumstances led you to make some… _questionable_ life choices."

Stan chuckles, "That's one way to put it."

Mabel shrugs.

"Anyway, so let me get this straight...You say this about _me_ and yet you're taking the words of some stupid, nasty, good for nothing unicorn to heart?"

She blushes and nods, realizing the fatal flaw to her logic and yet it doesn't change how she feels and so she looks back at her uneaten pancakes and goes back to picking at them with her fork.

"So basically, you're holding yourself to a much higher standard than me, is that right?" Stan asks, "You're willing to make excuses for _my_ bad choices, but not yours? Seems pretty arrogant if you ask me."

"Arrogant?" Mabel raises a brow in surprise, not expecting that at all.

"Yeah, you must think you're better than everyone else if you're going to punish yourself for being human, for being flawed and making mistakes and yet give _me_ a free pass."

"That's not what I…"

"Oh really?" Stan folds his arms and leans back, "Because that's what it looks like to me, kid. Didn't think you'd think so little of me…"

"I'm sorry…that's not…that's not my intention at all…" she says, blinking back tears.

"I know pumpkin," Stan says gently, reaching across the table to give her a soft pat on the arm, "I'm just trying to make a point here."

"I know, I know what you're trying to say but… I don't know… I just…" she wipes at the moisture in her eyes and smiles, "You're right. Silly me for letting that dumb unicorn upset me so much. She even admitted she was lying so why should I let what she said get to me? She doesn't know me."

There's a pause as Stan regards her with skepticism and concern. "Now you're just trying to humour me," Stan rolls his eyes and when Mabel lowers her head guiltily he continues, motioning to her uneaten pancakes, "You going to eat those? I made them 'specially for you, you know."

"Really?" she asks, perking up, visibly relieved that he seems to be dropping the subject.

"Yep. Dipper says you've been down, lately and I thought maybe they'd help cheer you up. And from everything I heard, after all you went through yesterday, even without knowing all the details, I figured you deserved something special."

"Thanks," she smiles softly, taking a bite as the thoughtful gesture reawakens her appetite.

"Besides, it's the least I can do after stealing your loot which I'm guessing you got from the unicorn?"

She ducks her head and nods, "Yeah…they gave it to us as a peace offering…well, so we'd leave them alone. You can have it though, I don't mind and the girls already got their share so..."

"Thanks," Stan smirks with amusement, and he leans forward, "Tell me you see the irony in this, kid."

She grins, "I guess I do a little."

"How's your hand by the way?" he asks, tilting his chin towards the bandage around her wrist.

"Oh this?" Mabel looks at it and shrugs, "It's sore, but it's OK. It's my side that hurts the most though…"

"Don't doubt it," he agrees, "Dipper told me what happened and I _know_ that's gotta hurt. Your hand though, can I see?"

She puts down her fork and he switches to sit in the chair next to her instead of across from her and he takes her hand and unwraps the bandage. At the sight of her bruised knuckles and swollen wrist he gives a low whistle, impressed, "Wow. You didn't hold back at all, did you?"

"I don't know what came over me," she murmurs, "she just…she made me so _angry_."

"How'd you do it? Show me."

"I don't really know, it happened so fast."

"Well then make a fist and pretend you're about to punch _me_ in the face," Stan says.

"But I don't want…"

"I'm not telling you to actually hit me, but if there's one thing I'm an expert on, it's punching," Stan chuckles.

Mabel sighs and makes a fist and pulls her hand back, slowly and gingerly mimicking the motion of that fateful strike to C-Beth's face as best as she can remember, careful not to jar her injuries. Stan catches her fist and then gently repositions her fingers and turns her wrist slightly.

"OK, next time you want to hold your fist like that and when you punch something, you want to try to hit here like this," he tells her, balling his hand into a fist and striking his open palm to demonstrate, "it won't necessarily save your knuckles but you'll find that it won't hurt nearly as much and will prevent you from spraining your wrist again."

"I don't want there to be a next time," Mabel whimpers, lowering her hand and gently massaging the sore wrist.

"Of course not, but that doesn't mean you won't one day find yourself in a situation where it's necessary—especially in this town," Stan shrugs, "I just want you to be prepared is all, you're a tough cookie and can hold your own in a fight, _obviously_ , but having good form can make a big difference. When you're feeling better, if you're up for it I'd like to give you a few lessons."

"I don't know…"

"For self defence," he clarifies, "come on, it can't hurt. You're no bully, I can trust you'd use such skills only for the power of good."

Mabel giggles softly, but there's a sadness behind it.

"Here," Stan says, taking her hand and tenderly rewrapping her wrist. There's a silence for a moment before Stan lets her go and sighs, "Chin up, kiddo, I hate to see you looking so down in the dumps."

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he exclaims, "I don't know if you're feeling down because of what that unicorn said, or if there's more to it than that, and I wish I knew how to cheer you up but don't ever apologise for being sad. You're a good, sweet kid and to be honest, you inspire me to be a better person."

"Really?" she asks through glistening eyes.

"Yeah, before you and Dipper came along, do you think I _ever_ said 'please' or 'thank you'?" he asks.

"You don't anyway," she points out with a forced smirk, even though she's on the brink of tears.

"I do on occasion," he exclaims with mock defensiveness, before he goes completely serious, "but the old me would choose to do whatever was easiest and benefit me the most, and I wouldn't even think about it or question whether it's the right thing to do or not. But now, thanks to you, even though I still make the wrong choices for the wrong reasons, _a lot,_ I don't always. You see, now I have this annoying angel on my shoulder that looks a lot like _you_ urging me to do the right thing once in a while. She drives me crazy sometimes, but I'm grateful for her."

Mabel pushes herself to her feet and throws her arms around him, even though it hurts to move, "Thank you."

Stan's taken aback at first, but he gently returns the hug as she buries her face in his shoulder, "Still think you're a bad person?"

Mabel pulls away, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she looks him in the eye. She doesn't say anything, because she doesn't know how to answer that. Even though Stan's words were exactly what she needed to hear, lifting her spirits, it's not enough to convince her. Not yet anyway.

 _It's not just about doing what's right. Maybe I'm all nice on the outside but… in my heart I am not a good person._

"I don't know," she says finally, "Things have changed… _I've_ changed, and I'm not sure I'm liking the person I'm starting to become. I realized yesterday that I'm not as good as I thought I was, maybe it doesn't make me a _bad_ person, but…" she sighs, her voice trailing off.

She's not perfect, she's flawed and human like everyone else, and she knows this, but a few weeks ago, life seemed so simple. Sure she made mistakes, but she knew how to fix them. But her sins of late seemed to come from within, not from her actions. Or maybe she was always like that, deep down, but it took a dramatic change in her silly little world for her to see it.

Absently she adds, "I wish things were like they were before—" She stops abruptly, cutting herself off before she can say something she'd regret.

"Before what?" Stan asks.

 _Before Grunkle Ford…_ "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

"What? Sweetie, what are you apologizing for?"

 _I wish I never let go of the button…_ Her breath hitches as the implications behind that thought slams into her.

"I don't know," she replies, haphazardly wiping the tears from her eyes, _What kind of horrible, selfish person would wish such a terrible thing? It's no wonder Dipper doesn't trust me anymore…and can I blame Grunkle Ford for not wanting me around?_ "I'm so confused, Grunkle Stan. It's like…like I don't know who I am anymore. I feel like such a jerk."

"Mabel, honey… you're not…."

 _But I can't just mope around and feel sorry for myself, and I can't avoid this any longer. I have to fix things before they get worse._

"But it's OK… I'm going to make things right," Mabel says decisively with a sad but optimistic smile. She wipes the tears from her eyes and leans forward, kissing him on the cheek, "Thanks for everything, Grunkle Stan."

"Anytime, pumpkin," Stan replies, clearly confused about how much help he really was, "anytime."

Feeling a little lighter, Mabel takes a deep breath, knowing what she has to do. With her body hunched over slightly and her hand protectively grasping her side, she goes to the gift shop and stops in front of the vending machine but then she hesitates, her fingers hovering over the buttons. She knows the passcode to get through the secret entrance to the basement, but she's not allowed down there, and after last night probably never will be. The last thing she needs is another misunderstanding to make things worse, but Ford and Dipper both could easily be down there all day.

"Mabel, what are you doing here?"

Ford's voice startles her and she twirls around, accidentally pulling at her wound which sends such a powerful surge of agony through her nerves that her vision goes white a moment and her knees buckle and she has to grasp the vending machine to keep from falling. _Oh crap, not again!_ She thinks helplessly.

"It's not what it looks like!" she gasps, barely registering him kneeling down to her level and grasping her shoulders to hold her steady. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"You should be in bed resting," he says with a weary sigh.

"But…"

"And you and me? We need to have a talk."

* * *

A/N I figured at this point Mabel would be more inclined to open up to Stan than Dipper, and while I wasn't sure about including their conversation, I kinda like how it turned out. Anyway, thanks for reading! As always, please let me know what you think! I would really like to know your thoughts. Next chapter will be up soon!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N So so sorry for the delay. I'm kinda dealing with...stuff lots of stuff which makes fanfiction low on the priority list. Also, this chapter has gone through a ton of rewrites and I'm still not sure I like it. I broke it into 2 parts, because the second part I'm still like, "Gaahhhhh this is terrible!" but I wanted to give you guys _something_ to know that I'm still alive and haven't given up on it or anything. I love you guys and I hope you like this chapter better than I do! Thanks to everyone for reading this story and for all the favourites, follows and especially reviews, it really means a lot to me.

Enjoy!

* * *

It's funny, because even though Mabel had set out to talk to Ford and make things right, now that the time has come, Mabel doesn't know what to say or do. It doesn't help that she's convinced she's in trouble for being caught outside the vending machine looking like she was going to go down there even though she knows she's not supposed to. The worst part is, Ford's expression is so unreadable that she can't tell if he's mad or if he's in a forgiving mood or what. But he doesn't say anything, he just waits in silence as she catches her breath, riding the wave of pain that came from moving wrong after he startled her.

When the pain eases off enough for her to function again he asks, "Are you all right?"

Mabel cocks her head to the side in confusion, not really expecting that question from him, certain that this latest misunderstanding would send him over the edge. "Yeah," she replies awkwardly and shakily, "remind me not to make sudden movements like that until _after_ I'm healed…oh man this hurts!"

"I'll bet," he muses with a voice that sounds surprisingly sympathetic considering she's convinced he's still mad at her.

"But I think the worst has passed now," she says. _I should be good so long as I avoid any movement altogether that is…_ She braces herself, expecting Ford to scold her any moment.

"That's good," he nods, "but you really should be in bed resting, not…"

"I wasn't trying to sneak into the basement!"

It's Ford's turn to look confused. "I didn't think you were."

"Really?" she asks, "I thought…I thought you thought that I…"

Ford chuckles lightly, "After last night? I'd imagine that's the last thing you'd want to do."

Completely dumbfounded, Mabel ducks her head and nods.

"Come on," he says with a sigh, holding out his hand and silently urging her to take it. She looks at it like it might be a trap, but she takes his hand anyway and he pulls her towards him gingerly lifting her into his arms in one motion. "Did you take that painkiller I gave to Dipper to give you?"

She nods.

"Good," he says, "I wish I could do more, but the salve is only good with one application and that pill I gave you last night, well, it's from the other dimension and I don't have access to some of the main ingredients to make more, so I'm forced to use those sparingly, I hope you understand."

"Yeah," she murmurs, now surprised and humbled because he gave it to her despite the limited quantities, even after he thought he caught her snooping. But it still leaves her a little confused.

"Good thing that only one of those babies is all it takes to speed up the healing process, unfortunately it does little to treat the pain, and the second day is always the worst no matter how you treat an injury like that," he says, carrying her into the living room and setting her down on Stan's big comfortable chair. "But the most important thing is that you need to take it easy and rest, you're really not helping it do it's work if you're up and about and I _know_ you must be feeling terrible."

"Yeah," she admits, "but it could be worse. That painkiller did help a lot."

"Glad to hear it," he smiles, "but I know it's not much."

Mabel shrugs, "Better than nothing, right?"

"Yes," Ford nods in agreement, "that's true. Can I see?"

"Um…yeah," she pulls her sweater up to give him access to the injury and he peels back the bandage to reveal a dark bruise surrounding the angry looking gash. She winces at the sight of what she could see in her field of vision, but Ford looks satisfied.

"Doesn't look much like it now, but the stuff I gave you is working," he grins, "but it probably won't really start feeling like it until tomorrow, but I imagine that in a day or two you'll be feeling more like yourself again. If I'm right and you cracked a rib, and I'm almost a hundred percent positive you have, an injury like that would normally take weeks to heal, but you should be back to full health in less than a week if all goes well and you take it easy."

"Thanks Grunkle Ford," Mabel gives him a smile, grateful for his help. She can't imagine feeling like she does now for weeks.

"Don't mention it," Ford says, putting the bandage back in place, "because of you, this place is safe from Bill. I can't stress enough how important that is, not just for this family, but for everyone."

Mabel wants to ask what it is that Bill wants, but she holds her tongue, feeling like she's walking on eggshells. He doesn't seem angry now, but she doesn't want to risk setting him off again. The last thing she needs to do is come across as nosy right now.

"I know that your quest yesterday had to come at a personal cost," he tells her. "Unicorns have a reputation for being frustrating, but that's because they know how to get under your skin, they know how to find your weaknesses and exploit them for their own personal entertainment. When you got back, I thought you managed to get by unscathed, physically and mentally, because you seemed so happy and victorious, but I see now that I was wrong. They did get to you, didn't they?"

"Well, you saw my side," she shrugs awkwardly, having a really good idea where he's going with this, "There's more shades of red and purple on my skin than there is in my closet—and that's saying something!" she jokes.

"I'm not just talking about that," he clarifies. There's a pause and Ford looks like he's struggling to come up with the right words to say. "Last night I had a little talk with Dipper and…it gave me something to think about…" he glances around the room, shifting on his feet awkwardly before he pulls up a chair and sits next to her. "Mabel, I…" he sighs, reaching to place his hand on her shoulder but hesitates and pulls his hand back. "You're a good person. You did something amazing for this family by going after that unicorn hair, you didn't have to, but you went anyway."

"Grunkle Ford," Mabel sighs, "I wanted to because… _unicorns_! I thought it would be fun and magical and everything I dreamed it would be. I didn't know that they'd turn out to be jerkfaces. It's hardly a selfless deed when you're too stupid to realize what you're getting into. I mean, yeah, I wanted to help protect the Shack from Bill, but if anything the whole quest was selfish of me…"

"Stop right there," Ford shushes her, "why would you think it was _selfish_?"

"Because…" she stammers, "because I wanted to meet the unicorns. If you said you needed slime from some slug monster, I doubt I would've been so eager to go."

"But you would've gone though?"

"If I _had_ to I suppose I would…" she considers, "but I wouldn't like it. That kind of quest seems more up Dipper's alley, I think…or maybe not…"

Ford chuckles, "I guess we'll never know for sure, since we don't need slug monster slime, thank goodness."

"Yeah," she grins, "but I was happy to help. It actually meant a lot that I _could_ help, that you'd…give me a chance and trust me with that."

There's an awkward pause for a moment before Ford sighs hesitantly, "Mabel…we need to talk about last night."

Mabel's breath hitches and she nods, "Yeah. Grunkle Ford…I'm…"

"I'm sorry," he cuts in, lowering his gaze guiltily.

"But…" Mabel stammers, surprised, "I'm the one who should be sorry!"

"No," he replies firmly, "you did nothing wrong. What happened last night, in the basement was all on me. I overreacted and I'm so sorry if I hurt you."

"But I should've known better than to be wandering around down there, but I wasn't trying to snoop or be nosy, honest. I just…I saw the picture of me and Dipper and I was so happy that you fixed it and kept it and…I wasn't thinking."

"Mabel, it's OK. I believe you," he says and when she gives him a questioning look, like she's not sure if he truly means it or not, he continues, "last night…I believed that you meant no harm but I admit I had a hard time believing that you weren't snooping, but then Dipper shed some light on our misunderstanding and I believe you now. Either way, I shouldn't have overreacted the way I did, a lot of it was because I was angry at myself for…well…" he hesitates, leaving a short but awkward pause.

"Trusting me?" Mabel guesses with a sad frown.

"What? No!" Ford exclaims, "Is that what you think?"

"But you don't trust me, do you?" Mabel asks, "It's OK, I get it though, I…"

"No, Mabel, no, you got it all wrong. The truth is that I was so angry with myself for being so paranoid that I would lash out the way I did, especially considering you got hurt helping to protect this family. I had been so foolishly afraid that I missed something and for a moment I worried that you might have been…well…Bill." He glances away from her, ashamed.

"Me?" she gapes incredulously and then she scoffs, "No way would I ever let that stupid, good for nothing, yellow, one-eyed jerk use _me_ as a puppet! After what he did to Dipper, if I saw him again I would send that three-sided buttface back to where he came from!"

Ford seems taken aback by her angry resolve at first and then he smiles.

"Besides…" she continues, a little uncertain, "he can't get in here anymore…can he?"

"No, thanks to you, no. But there's been far too much history between us for me to just turn off that fear of him, even though I _know_ this place is protected. It clouded my judgement and I just…I reacted. I never meant to be so harsh and I'm so, so sorry," he says.

"It's OK," Mabel reaches for him, placing her hand on his arm, "I'm sorry too."

"But you didn't do anything wrong," Ford insists.

Mabel shrugs, "Well…it feels like I did."

"Why would you think that?"

She thinks about it a moment. "Maybe it's nothing I did exactly, but…I don't know how to explain it. I just feel awful because I…well…I don't know." _How do I tell you without hurting you how much I resent the fact that you're so close with Dipper but won't have anything to do with me…how this family was close and happy until you came along...?_ _How a part of me selfishly wishes that I shut down the portal…_ "Because I don't like how things have changed since…since…"

"Since I got here?" he guesses when her voice fades and it's her turn to look away ashamed.

"I know it's not your fault and it's unfair of me to think that way but…yeah," she says quickly and regretfully.

There's a long silence and while she can't see him with her face turned away from him, she can hear him release a sigh and lean back.

"I'm sorry," Mabel says when the quiet becomes too much, "I just… don't get me wrong, I think it's great that you're here and I'm glad that you and Dipper get along and stuff. He's idolized you since before he knew who you were. I guess…I guess I'm just jealous. I know, it's stupid but…" she blinks, quickly wiping away a solitary tear, "I miss him."

"Dipper? But you see him every day."

"I know but…like I said it's stupid. We used to do stuff together all the time and now I barely see him because he's always with you. I feel kinda left out."

"I'm sorry," Ford says sincerely.

Mabel shrugs one shoulder dismissively, "Don't be. I realize now that I have no one to blame but myself."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because it's true. I think Dipper has started to see me for what I really am. I think that's why he's starting to distance himself from me, but he's just too nice to say anything."

"Mabel, whatever those unicorns said to you, please don't take it to heart…"

But she ignores him and continues, "The worst thing is that up until recently I sorta blamed you for it. It wasn't until you came along and started to spend time with him that he stopped trusting me. I get it though, because I haven't exactly been the best sister to him, but everything was fine between us until you came along and I resented you for it. And since you got here, I've started to worry that…"

"That what?" he asks when she pauses suddenly.

 _We'll grow up to become like you and Stan and that you two will never make up,_ she thinks but she doesn't say it out loud. Instead she wipes another tear from her eye and her chin quivers as she tries not to cry. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I know it was wrong of me to think that way, I shouldn't blame you for all the changes and stuff I don't like that have happened since you got here, but I couldn't help it! But now I know better and I'm so, so sorry!"

"Aw Mabel…" Ford sighs as she begins to sob, unable to hold it all in.

"Do…do you hate me now?" she asks meekly.

"No, Mabel I don't hate you, how could I hate a sweet and weird girl like you?" Ford shakes his head, gently stroking her hair, "I didn't realize you felt that way."

"I'm sorry. Like I said, it's not your fault. I should've done more to make you feel welcome and stuff, then maybe things would be different."

"Mabel, ever since I stepped through that portal, you have been nothing but warm and wonderful."

"Then why don't you want to have anything to do with me?"

Ford is taken aback, at a loss for words. After a moment of hesitation, he stammers, "That's not…that's not true…is it?"

"Feels like it," she admits, "I know I'm not into that nerdy science-y stuff you and Dipper like, at least not as much as you two. But…Dipper and me, we used to go on adventures together and people called us the Mystery Twins and I don't know, maybe I took that for granted because sometimes I would rather do my own thing with my friends but now he has you and I'm not even invited anymore."

"I didn't know that," Ford murmurs quietly, "No, that's not right. I think Dipper might've mentioned it but it never really registered…I never really thought…"

"Since you got here, you haven't _once_ tried to get to know me," Mabel cries, feeling a hint of anger well up inside her, "but when I tried to get to know you, you'd always shut me down, why is that? What did I do?"

"Nothing…honey you didn't do anything…"

"Up until yesterday it was like I wasn't even there except the odd time you came out of the basement and I made you laugh, and maybe to you that's all I'm good for…"

"Oh Mabel th—"

"I was so surprised you included me yesterday that maybe I _would've_ happily gathered slime from some slug monster if nothing else than to prove to you that you could trust me, that there's more to me than being some silly, stupid girl!" Now that Mabel's letting her feelings out, she can't seem to stop and as her hurt and anger makes its way to the surface she gets more animated and tugs at her injured side and she cries out in pain and doubles over, gingerly wrapping her arms around herself, sobbing. "Then maybe you'd accept me and include me once in a while and..."

Ford feels awkward, not knowing what to do to comfort the crying girl, knowing her pain is physical and emotional. He's done everything he can to help with her physical pain, but when it comes to the emotional, he's clueless.

"I suppose I didn't do much to help matters at all, did I?" Ford says finally, after a long pause where the only sound is that of Mabel crying.

"It's OK," she sniffs, wiping her nose with her sleeve, "I don't blame you, not anymore. I'm not as nice as I thought I was, I'm selfish and stupid and silly and I've taken Dipper for granted and without realizing it pushed him away and maybe you picked up on that somehow and that's why you don't trust…"

"No, you're wrong. Mabel, the thing is, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just that I've always had trust issues. Always. It's never personal and with a creature like Bill...he made me so paranoid, some days I can barely trust myself. See, I've never been really good with people. I was always awkward I never had many friends and while I may be a genius in many different areas, but when it comes to people skills? I can be pretty dumb sometimes. If anyone is taking anyone for granted it's me taking _you_ for granted. I've been so consumed with work and I never took into consideration how you feel about all this. To be honest, people like you…are a little intimidating."

Mabel bristles, "People like _me_?"

"Popular, outgoing and cheerful, extroverted… people who aren't like me," Ford clarifies with a smile, "I mean that as a compliment."

"Thanks but…I'm not that popular," Mabel says.

"Really?" Ford seems genuinely surprised, "From what I see everyone loves you."

"I guess," she shrugs, "but not a lot of people have really tried to get to know me beyond what they see on the surface. Here I have friends and they're wonderful, the best friends I've ever had who like me for me but at home? People think I'm weird. I'm someone that people like to be around because I'm fun, but the moment I'm not the silly, fun, weird girl they expect me to be, they're gone. I don't really understand it. Sometimes I can be in a crowd of people, the center of attention but…deep down, sometimes I feel lonely."

"Maybe the people at home have made the same mistake I have by putting you in a box and making the same assumptions I have, and taking advantage of your easy going personality," Ford sighs, "I'm sorry about that, really I am. I want you to know that was never my intent."

"It's OK," Mabel says, "don't worry about it. Honestly, I think I'm just feeling sorry for myself."

"For the record, I like you Mabel. I have a lot of respect for you, had it since I met you," Ford explains, "I assumed that we were good, that you were fine with me taking Dipper under my wing…"

"And I am, _honest_ I am but…"

" _But_ ," Ford cuts in, "It never occurred to me that you would feel left out because of it, nor did I realize that I was taking away something important to you by including Dipper and not you and occupying all his time to leave you by the wayside. That's on _me_. I didn't think you would even _want_ to spend time with an old science nerd like me, I didn't even think about it at all. Not only that but I have so much work that I need to do, work that's _paramount_ to protecting this world from Bill I had little intention of spending much time with _anyone_. Dipper is the exception because we have so much in common, he's so much like me when I was your age that we instantly clicked."

"And I'm glad you did."

"The other mistake I made was assuming that since you and Dipper are so different, you probably aren't that close…"

"Can't blame you, the way I've been teasing him lately…" Mabel frowns, "I feel so awful…"

"Mabel, siblings tease each other. From what I see there's no real malice behind it and I'm sure Dipper might get annoyed, but he won't think any less of you," Ford shrugs.

"But he even said that he wishes I didn't tease him so much, but I can't help it sometimes."

"I'm sure he teases you too, am I right?"

"Sometimes…" she concedes.

"Well, if you've ever taken anything too far, I'm quite certain you don't mean to and he certainly doesn't hold any grudge," Ford says, "and it doesn't make you a bad person either."

Mabel blinks and a tear falls down her cheek, "I can be such a jerk…"

"You and everyone else on this planet at some point or another," Ford waves her off dismissively, "maybe even the entire multiverse…so either we're all bad people or you're being way too hard on yourself. I might have made a few mistakes judging your character, assuming that a happy-go-lucky girl such as yourself would have too much going on in her social life to ever feel left out of anything, but I know for a fact that I'm not wrong when I say you're a good person. If I didn't think so I would've never agreed that you were the right for the job to getting that unicorn hair."

"Thanks…but…"

"If anyone's the jerk it's me."

"Nah," Mabel waves him off, "you're not a jerk. You obviously have some important stuff going on. Much more important than my petty feelings."

"Your feelings are important and valid," Ford argues, "I'm thinking maybe we just got off on the wrong foot, I made a lot of unfair judgements and assumptions about you. Nothing really negative, except for the effect it had on you, but I had figured we didn't have anything in common and was too consumed with my work to even consider…it's all lead to one big misunderstanding, I think."

"How would you know that we don't have anything in common?" Mabel asks, "We never really talked before."

"And that needs to end now," Ford nods his head decisively, "I propose a do-over."

"A do-over?" Mabel quirks an eyebrow, wondering what he's getting at as he holds out his hand invitingly.

"Hi, I'm Stanford Pines, your great uncle, but you can call me Ford."

Mabel looks at his hand and then reaches hers out with a stifled giggle, "OK. I'm Mabel, your great niece, but you can call me Mabel."

"Pleasure to meet you Mabel," he grins, shaking her hand. "Would you like to spend the afternoon with me?"

Mabel perks up, feeling her eyes well with tears, "Really?"

"Sure," he replies, "the house is safe from Bill thanks to you, and while he's still a threat, I don't think it will hurt to take the day off to spend it with you."

"That would be wonderful!" she exclaims, "What do you want to do?"

"Well, considering you're injured, it shouldn't be too strenuous, because you need to rest if you're to heal, but whatever you'd like," Ford offers. "It's up to you."

Mabel thinks a moment and then grins, "Actually, I have an idea. You said you don't think we have anything in common? Well I say we _do_ have at least one thing in common. Well, I know what we can do and it's something I think we'll both enjoy."

"All right, I'm listening. What do you want to do?"

Mabel's smile widens.

* * *

A/N Thanks for reading, please leave a review and let me know what you think! Conclusion and maybe, _maybe_ an epilogue should be up soon (fingers crossed).

Also, I hope you'll check out a story I posted a while back called "Life is Good" if you haven't already. It's a complete one shot and features some Stan and Mabel h/c and fluff and a little bit of an exploration into Stan's character. It didn't quite get the traffic I was hoping for but if you're interested please check it out and leave a review! I like any kind of comment, criticism or insight you might have, it would really make me happy. You guys are awesome!


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